Dominion

Author(s): Tony
Location: Pittsburgh

“Dominion"

Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Principal Cast:

Jeremy Renner as Andy Denton
Bruce Willis as Kevin Denton
Wes Bentley as Richard Curtin
Liev Schreiber as Mr. Born
Melanie Griffith as Loretta Curtin
Danny Aiello as Dr. Gordon

Tagline: “Go to sleep, Andy. Wake up, Andy. Kill, Andy, kill”

Synopsis: A quiet diner in the small town of Hudson Wyoming is where Andy Denton placed one hand over the other onto his cold table, focusing on the outline of his fingers, desperately trying to puzzle together the missing pieces of the one thing he could never solve, his life. Years had gone by since Andy could remember any recollection of his days as a child and young adult. With the help from his concerned father Kevin, Andy is in search for his mysterious, missing time frame. Home movies, photographs, none of it made sense to Andy. The only thing Andy knew was the untimely coincidences that have been going on, and his recent problem dealing with his state of mind.

Andy notices certain things that are repeating constantly. The album "The Wall" by Pink Floyd is always playing, seeing cds in which he doesn't remember buying. His random run-ins with his old math teacher Mr. Born. A blood stain that appears on Andys flannel shirt constantly, even after washing it out, it always reappears. At first Andy thought nothing of these occurrences, but this was just the start. Andy's life takes a gigantic shift when Kevin notices odd behaviors with his son. Strange posturing, inappropriate laughter, not blinking. Andy is aware of this, but will refuse to seek help. It was obvious Andy had the symptoms of schizophrenia.

The ultimate symptom would begin a few days later. Andy would begin to hear voices in his head, if he didn't obey the voices commands, a powerful chest pain would occur and Andy would be forced to obey. It finally took the last step, where Andy would be told to kill, he did not know who or how. The symptons get more fierce, the sounds of Pink Floyd, Mr. Born beginning to make house visits to his old student. Eventually leading to Andy beginning his random stages of black outs. When Andy would awake from his black out, a story on the news would indicate that a citizen of the small town had been murdered. This frightens the town knowing there's a killer on the loose.

Meanwhile, Richard Curtin has been experiencing problems of his own. We see Richard accompanied by his mother, Loretta, he sits down with a shrink, although there are no clues as to why he is talking with him. More murders appear and it is when Mr. Born is the latest victim on the news that Andy needs to confess. However, due to overwhelming evidence the police cannot place Andy at the scene of the crime, for any of them. Andy knows he needs to be locked away.

A flashback is shown of 6 years ago in Andys last black out of a time he doesn't remember, he sees himself walking on the side of a dirt road in the middle of the night. A car is creeping by, driving the car is Richard Curtin, intoxicated, and listening to Pink Floyds "The Wall". A blood stain on Richards shirt can be noticed caused from a bitten lip. He loses control and runs down Andy Denton, crushing his chest with the deadly vehicle, while a small cabin owned by Mr. Born can be seen down the road as Mr. Born was relaxing on his porch, witnessing the incident. Richard was Borns prized student at the time and couldn't let justice handle Richard. Andys maker would never be solved.

Andy made himself his own reality, it was apparent to Andy that he was the voice inside of Richard's head, while it was Richards life he was living. While creating such incidents such as his encounter with the police, his reality was inside of the mind of Richard Curtin, making him do wrong doings, seeking his revenge, causing Richard to be haunted by the incident and ultimately leading to Richards suicide.

What the press would say:

If you haven't already heard, M. Night is back, bringing you the prodigious feature we've been waiting for since The Sixth Sense. All is expected in this film from older M. Night films, and then some. We have the main character, confused, tormented, the normal guy with a unique story that we know of, or don't know of. You have the hidden messages, the small, overlooked scenes that uses noises in the background, haunting dialogue that brings out nothing but pure horror to the audience, but Shyamalan brings more to the table in his new masterpiece "Dominion". The way he blends in the tear jerking, beautiful, haunting sounds of Pink Floyd with the intensity of a scene is mind blowing, the music itself only intensifies the thrilling aspect of this film. Curve ball after curve ball is thrown into this deep script and we the audience love every minute of it, trying to solve what's going to happen next. Of course the lead man in this film, Jeremy Renner, can be accounted for giving us his masterful portrayal of a demented Andy Denton. In a scene where Andy breaks out, you can notice Renner is putting all his might into this performance, his facial expressions, body movement, he does everything for a reason, and that reason is to create a disturbing atmosphere for his character. A fair warning to those who haven't seen this film, do NOT look Andy Denton in the eyes, they'll stick with you, trust me. Bruce Willis reminds us again that he can be a subtle actor, as muted and mysterious as other great actors with similar roles. Willis and Renner (sounds like a TV show) easily click and you can watch the father/son relationship slowly disintegrate before our eyes. The pace never stops for "Dominion", your mind is wondering in 20 different places, the anticipation of the next scene causes your nerves to rise. Of course M. Night gives you time to relax and feeds in those quirky, comedic one-liners, but what will be remembered is the true shock value this film provides. You'll have to avoid talks of this film, avoid the friends at school if you want to be spared the authentic ending of "Dominion". This film has the potential to be the best of the year, one the Academy would be fools if they slept on.

FYC:

Best Picture - M. Night Shyamalan
Best Director - M. Night Shyamalan
Best Actor in Leading Role - Jeremy Renner
Best Actor in Supporting Role - Bruce Willis
Best Original Screenplay - M. Night Shyamalan
Best Original Score
Best Editing